Wilson's phalaropes are slender "shorebirds" that breed across the Great Plains and Great Basin and winter on high altitude, alkaline lakes in South America. Come spring, they generally move northward across the Great Plains while, in fall, they stage on alkaline lakes of the Great Basin before flying south. Here in central Missouri, they are uncommon migrants.
I was thus pleased to encounter a pair of Wilson's phalaropes at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on this cool, rainy morning. Mingling with a large flock of lesser yellowlegs, the phalaropes appeared to be gleaning insects from the surface; when in larger congregations, they typically spin about, stirring up larvae and other aquatic invertebrates from the shallows. This species is also known to consume a variety of seeds from aquatic plants.
But it is on their breeding grounds that the unusual behavior of these long-distance migrants becomes most evident. There, the female phalarope chooses her mate (or several mates) and designates nest sites (usually at the edge of freshwater ponds); the male(s) complete the nest building and, once she lays her eggs, take over incubation and parental duties. She, in turn, is free to lounge through the summer until the autumn migration begins.
I was thus pleased to encounter a pair of Wilson's phalaropes at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on this cool, rainy morning. Mingling with a large flock of lesser yellowlegs, the phalaropes appeared to be gleaning insects from the surface; when in larger congregations, they typically spin about, stirring up larvae and other aquatic invertebrates from the shallows. This species is also known to consume a variety of seeds from aquatic plants.
But it is on their breeding grounds that the unusual behavior of these long-distance migrants becomes most evident. There, the female phalarope chooses her mate (or several mates) and designates nest sites (usually at the edge of freshwater ponds); the male(s) complete the nest building and, once she lays her eggs, take over incubation and parental duties. She, in turn, is free to lounge through the summer until the autumn migration begins.
